Untold – A WTVR Podcast

It has been nearly two decades since a massive upset first put Tom Perriello on the political map. In 2008, the young Democrat ousted a six-term congressman in Virginia’s heavily republican 5th district. But Perriello ended up serving only one term before losing his re-election campaign. Now he’s back and trying to reclaim his old seat. On the latest episode of 'Untold - A WT...

As the federal government and states crack down on some kratom products, Mac Haddow joins ‘Untold’ to talk regulation, science, and why he feels passionately that the natural leaf form of the substance has been a life saver for some. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andy Edmunds has helped bring new Hollywood to Virginia. For the last several years, Edmunds has been in charge of the Virginia Film Office, and he has worked tirelessly to attract the best directors and producers in the world to shoot their shows and movies right here in the Commonwealth. Now his own film is about to hit theaters. On the latest episode of Untold - A WTVR Podcast, Edmunds and Cati...

Dean Francis had never heard of kratom, until he says it nearly killed his son. Now, he’s dedicating countless hours and energy to sound the alarm about the dangers of the popular supplement. In a relatively short period of time, he’s become one of kratom’s most critical voices, and he’s now at the center of an intense national debate on its regulation. Francis sat dow...

Few people know more about recovery than John Shinholser. For years, the Marine Corps veteran has been helping people battle their demons and overcome addiction. Now the co-founder of the prestigious McShin Foundation has shifted his focus to a plant that many have not heard of, but one that is currently at the center of a passionate discourse… both in Richmond and in Washington. Shinholser...

Jeffrey Katz has been in law enforcement for more than three decades, and in that time he’s seen it all. Katz came to the Richmond area from Florida in 2018 when he was named the police chief of Chesterfield County. Now, after a spell with the FBI, he’s the head of the Virginia State Police. On the latest episode of ‘Untold - A WTVR Podcast,’ the career lawman tal...

Growing up on the streets of segregated Norfolk, Tim Reid learned the lessons of being a good storyteller at an early age. His first stage: the dinner table at his grandmother’s boarding house. “They'd sit around and start telling lies and talking about their lives, and I would listen, then my grandmother would say, ‘Junior, tell them about what thing happened at church the other...

From Virginia Tech to Capitol Square to the Halls of the United States Congress, Rob Wittman has made his career in public service. The Virginia Republican has been on Capitol Hill for nearly two decades, and along the way has become a top defense expert. Now he is running for reelection in Virginia's First District in what it might be his toughest campaign yet. Rep. Wittman sat down with Catie Be...

Jon Burkett, one of the hardest working crime reporters in the country, is leaving CBS 6 after more than a quarter century covering Richmond news. Burkett made the announcement on the latest episode of "Untold – A WTVR Podcast," telling host Catie Beck that his departure is driven by health concerns and a desire to be more present for his family. "After 26 years, and on my 26-year anniv...

He has dedicated his life to law enforcement. Andy Harris started his career as a police officer in North Carolina. Then he took on one of the biggest jobs in public safety, protecting and serving the President of the United States. Now on Untold, this retired Secret Service agent details what it was like on the most high-profile security detail on the planet, including a close call overseas, wher...

This month marks 20 years since Officer Joe Diman and his new partner, Gary Buro, responded to a domestic disturbance in Chesterfield County, Va. Moments after arriving and entering the house, Buro was shot and killed. Despite being shot five times during an ensuing gun battle, Diman was able to subdue the gunman, something that almost certainly saved the lives of the gunman’s girlfriend and...

May Pang took some of the most cand. id and fascinating pictures in the history of rock ‘n’ roll But Pang never trained to be a photographer, and she never really intended for many people to see her singular snapshots of one of music's biggest stars. "My first boyfriend, this guy named John Lennon, some people may know him," Pang said in an interview with Catie Beck on the most recent...

The bodies of two teenaged friends were discovered in the trunk of a car in Richmond's Gilpin Court 25 years ago this month. A quarter century later, there are still more questions than answers about how they got there. Nineteen-year-old Herman Woolfolk III and 17-year-old Latrice Hulin disappeared the night of April 21, 2001.  The Henrico teens, who relatives say were friends but were not da...

As one of Virginia’s most notorious crimes is receiving renewed attention, a retired lawman who did his own investigation of the case is speaking out. Chip Harding sat down with Catie Beck on the most recent episode of ‘Untold – A WTVR Podcast’ to discuss his thoughts on the Jens Soering case. Soering, a former UVA student, served decades in prison for the 1985 murders of D...

Jens Soering sat in prison for decades after being convicted of murdering his girlfriend’s parents, who were found stabbed to death inside their rural Bedford County home in 1985. The case made headlines around the world, in part, because Soering, then a University of Virginia student who was the son of a German diplomat, initially confessed to the shocking crimes. But he later recanted, cla...

When he was a teenager, Jens Soering confessed to committing one of Virginia's most shocking crimes. He later recanted, but says he understands why some people still question why he would ever admit to killing two people if he did not really do it. In spring 1985, Soering, the son of a German diplomat, was a first-year student at the University of Virginia when he and his then-girlfriend Elizabeth...

His life's journey has taken him from the cradle of Western civilization to the West End. Along the way, Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas has become one of the most powerful men in Central Virginia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It has been eight years since Jason Kamras took the job of superintendent for Richmond Public Schools, but he has no plans of leaving anytime soon. And the former math teacher says he is encouraged by the numbers he is seeing. "Last year seniors hit an 80% graduation rate, which is the highest in about a decade," said Kamras. "And our black students and economically disadvantaged student...

More than a year after his inauguration, and almost 12 months after he was the inaugural guest on 'Untold - A WTVR Podcast," Richmond mayor Danny Avula returned to talk with host Catie Beck about the highs and lows of 2025, and the icy start to 2026. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was one of the most puzzling missing persons cases that Virginia has ever seen. In October 2009, a Virginia Tech student named Morgan Harrington traveled to Charlottesville for a Metallica concert. She got separated from her friends and vanished without a trace. Three months later, Morgan’s body was found on a remote part of a nearby farm. But it would take years for her killer to be caug...

Rob Ukrop on 'Untold - A WTVR Podcast' See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Few people know more about Richmond’s nooks and crannies than Harry Kollatz Jr. The Central Virginia native has spent the last three plus decades at Richmond Magazine, exploring the city’s bygone eras and its culture, in addition to spotlighting the ever-expanding local arts scene. “Everything comes from somewhere, and that's what I enjoy doing, as far as I can, delving into the...

John Reid returns to Untold to discuss his recent campaign for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, highlighting the challenges he faced as an openly gay Republican candidate. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chaz Nuttycombe, 26, has taken the election prediction world by storm, becoming one of the most talked about and sought after forecasters in the country. He’s quick to share the credit. “When it comes to my job as a forecaster, and now a pollster, I work with a brilliant polling committee,” Nuttycombe told Catie Beck during an appearance on the most recent episode of ‘...

Brad Bradley returns to give host Catie Beck an exclusive update on all the recent developments that have occurred concerning the case of his sister, Amy, who vanished aboard a cruise ship in 1998. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.